AFTER a report from a postman of the nuisance seagulls were causing to residents in Port Isaac was passed on to a local councillor, St Endellion Parish Council sprang into action, writes Zoë Uglow.

Seagulls have been a problem in coastal towns in Cornwall for years. St Endellion Council has taken a stand against them in Port Isaac with an application to Natural England for a license to allow it to control the rising numbers.

Port Isaac is best known for being the fictional town of Port Wenn in the ITV series ‘Doc Martin’. Thanks to the success of the show, visitor numbers have increased, but the fear is that they may become discouraged if seagulls behave aggressively.

The postman wrote to the council explaining that he and colleagues who cover his day off ‘quite often refuse to deliver to certain addresses’ from fear of attack from seagulls.

There is protocol at the Royal Mail that says if a postman feels threatened, for example by an aggressive dog on a property, they are within reason allowed to not deliver the mail — the same protocol stands if they feel unsafe due to seagulls at a property.

Parish council chairman Cllr David Raynor said: “We were informed of the issue by a local postman who contacted a local councillor explaining that the seagulls had become a problem for him whilst delivering the mail.

“They have been breeding on the rooftops of local houses and when their young fall off the roof and anyone walks by they immediately attack. As a result we have decided to apply for a special license so that we will be able to deal with the issue at hand.”

Natural England is aware of the issues involving gulls in recent times and has warned they can become particularly aggressive during their nesting season and when rearing young.

Local authorities can take preventative measures to keep problems to tolerable levels by installing netting over possible roosting areas on property, keeping food storage and waste facilities secure and discouraging the public from feeding the birds.

The herring gull is a protected and endangered species and has been ‘red-listed’ — their numbers are in decline, and the use of lethal control can only be permitted with an individual license from Natural England.

The St Endellion councillors suggested that instead of lethal measures they could take or replace the gull’s eggs with rubber, or cover the eggs in oil to prevent hatching in an attempt to reduce the population and help lessen the problem.